Providence Jamfest Notes; Ledo goes off

Note: I took video of the Expressions/CBC semi-final.  It was my first shot at recording and I'll do my best to get it up on Youtube soon.  I missed probably 3 minutes of action and (of course) Ledo swished two 3s and hit a leaner, while Drummond had his two loudest blocks of the game with my camera on pause.  Almost all of the game is on my camera.  I'll post the videos here in the next week or two if I can successfully load them to youtube.

Typically, when attending a prep or AAU tournament a player emerges who blows you away, a PC recruit shines, or there is a great game to report on.  After spending the day at the Providence City Courts (great facility, just behind Federal Hill) on Saturday I struggled to find an angle.

Sure, the #1 seeded New England Playaz, featuring Naadir Tharpe, Alex Murphy, and Markus Kennedy (Winchendon/Villanova) falling to the Granite State Jayhawks (NH) was a massive upset, and the Playaz winning their opener while playing with only four players in the first six or seven minutes was noteworthy, but nothing jumped out in day one.

On Sunday morning the Playaz bounced back, but it was another quiet day for Tharpe and Murphy, while the Expressions (led by Mike Carter-Williams, Ricky Ledo, and Khem Birch) took care of business in their morning session, but still nothing jumped out as the story.

Then the tournament's semi-final matched Expressions with Andre Drummond's Connecticut Basketball Club (CBC).  For the second time in two months Friarbasketball.net geared up for a matchup of New England's monster sophomore big men.  In early March Drummond's St. Thomas More team shocked Birch's Winchendon squad in the National Prep Championship. 

Need more intrigue?  CBC has another big man - 6'11 Vince Van Nes who Providence reportedly recently offered. 

In a game featuring three talented giants, and the 2010 National Prep School Invitational MVP (Carter-Williams) it was Providence native Ricky Ledo who stood tallest in his hometown.

Ricky for 3 (time and again)

Those who have been following this site closely know that I have gone back and forth on Ledo - back and forth in the sense that I question if he is truly a top 25 player in his class.  His handle is still a work in progress and he doesn't have a blow-by first step, and while he was billed as a great shooter I saw him as having the potential to be a great shooter, but not quite consistent enough yet.

Then in St. Andrew's final game at the NPSI at URI Ledo went off in the 2nd half, nailing several 3s in leading his team to victory against a team from the NEPSAC's Class A.  A close game turned into a relatively easy win when as his outside shooting broke it open.

With good size, above average athleticism and the ability to hit from deep, the tools are all there for Ricky and if his effort in the semi-final of the Providence Jamfest is any indication, he's putting it all together.

Simply put, Ledo was the difference between two evenly matched teams.  He caught fire from beyond the arc (had to have had 7 or 8 3s) and made them at critical junctures.  His early burst gave Expressions a double digit lead and his late surge helped put the game away.  The buzz started to grow as fans oohed and awed with each passing make. 

After a subpar weekend for Alex Murphy and a phenomenal one for Ledo, I still believe Murphy is the better player (taller, better passer and rebounder), but Ricky closed the gap after this weekend.

Additional notes:

• A very quiet weekend for Naadir Tharpe and all of the New England Playaz.  They played two overmatched opponents and his minutes were limited some in two blowouts, but in the loss to the Granite State Jayhawks he had a great opening 8 minutes or so, but couldn't lead his team back against a team that killed his with unbelievable outside shooting and ball movement.  For a true passing point guard like Naadir the prep ranks is where he'll excel and what will most simulate what he'll see in college.  Scorers tend to dominate AAU games.
• Ditto for Alex Murphy.  He was more active on the glass than I had seen him, but his shot was off this weekend.  Still such a talented kid who can do so many things at 6'8.
• I'm going to guess Vince Van Nes has the skills and is just trying to catch up to the speed of the game.  The big lefty looks every bit 6'11, but it was difficult to get a gauge for his game because he didn't take many shots or rebound much.  In the semis against Expressions he saw little playing time in the second half, he might not have played at all. 
• Birch held his own against the more physical Drummond, with the highlight being when he blocked Drummond's shot and after the big man recovered, drawing a charge on him. I took note (and wrote about it here) when Tharpe and Coleman seemed chummy before playing each other in December and I noted the same thing with Birch and Naadir in between games.  Let's hope history repeats.  If anyone can recruit local talent it is the outgoing and charismatic Tharpe.
• Drummond flashed more of an offensive game than he had at the prep level.  He is simply a monster physically, a really good athlete, and he's physical.  He blocked one shot that landed out of bounds and started a fast break by sending a layup attempt out to halfcourt.  He twice led a fastbreak after grabbing a rebound.
• You see a lot at AAU tournaments.  The best of the weekend: one player showed up late to a game and then was late checking in as he looked for someone to hold his earrings.  His coach was not amused. 
• It becomes apparent at tournaments like these just how hard it is to find talented big men.  I came looking for big man sleepers (last year I was impressed with the athleticism of Ryan Canty), but didn't see much.  Perhaps there were more at RIC, but I didn't see much.  Big men take a while to develop and I try to keep that in mind when I see a kid like Van Nes not having much of an on-court impact so early in his development.